to be created anew in Christ, presupposes his former cre ation to be in the same image. Then it will follow, that Christ is the beginning in the creation of man and the end in his salvation; as he says, Rev. 1. 11. "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." So that in the same sense as we first received our sensible existence in Christ, the image of God, even so we must receive eternal life in him at last. Hence God, who saw the end of man in the beginning, blessed him in his only begotten son; saying, "Be fruitful, &c." Therefore, man was brought into rational being under the prospect of final happiness, in as much as he was blessed in Christ. "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold it was very good, and the evening and the morning were the sixth day" Then on

the sixth day, when God came to view the works of his hands, behold there was not so bad a thing among them as even one reprobate soul: For all was not only midling good, but very good. Hence there could be no devils among them; nor any whom God foresaw would finally grow into unalterable devils in the end. For we read he declared the end from the beginning; and of course if all was very good in the beginning, ali will be so in the final end. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them." And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." This is a very striking figure of that final day, when all things being made new, and the work of Jesus ended, then God will rest in his love, as predicted, Zeph. 3. 17. "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy 0ver thee with singing." Yes, verily, God will then again behold all very good, and bless the glorious work of a Redeemer, which shall have ended in a full salvation of all the moral works of his hand," tle will rest in his love." And may God grant that we through faith, rest

also in his love.

CHAPTER 2.

ON THE FORMATION OF MAN.

Gen. 2. 4, 5, 6, 7,8. "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb before it grew: For the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his noistrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." Now let us take particular notice, that although the heavens and the earth' with all their hosts were created, previous to man's formation, yet every plant and every tree slept in embryo, and there was not yet a man to till the ground. But there was not a man to till the ground. But there was a man to hold communion with God; there existed the proper offspring of God, already created as his own image, and blessed, and who had received a command, to multiply and replenish the earth; even before the means for obedience to that command, were connected with bis spiritual existence, while yet unclothed with animal nature, he received instructions to subdue the earth, aud to have dominion over animal nature, while as yet, "there was not a man to till the ground.” This puts me in mind of our Lord's commanding his apostles to go out, and preach the gospel to every creature; but at the same time reminding them, that they must tarry at Jerusalem, till endued with power from on high. However, there is this difference; those apostles were to receive their power from on hight for a spiritual work, but

man in his carly estate, must receive an earthly union from beneath; as a medium through which to obey the command of his maker, to subdue and replenish the earth, &c. So the LORD God formed the animal man of the dust of the very ground to be tilled through his instrumentality; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, i. e. infused into the earthly man that same intellectual spirit, before created and blessed; so that the animal and spiritual nature of man, both became mystically incorporated together, as one living soul or man. For it is plain to be seen, that nothing could be breathed or infused into the earthly form, that did not already exist, as the very expression, "Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," presupposes the prior existence of that life; so that when mystically united with the earthly nature, the animal man became living and active; according to the design of his maker; having eyes to see, feeling to feel, taste to taste, ears to hear, and hands to handle the material works of God: and likewise the outward sense of smelling, that man might not only know how to avoid that which is the most pestilential when copiously drawn in upon our lungs with the air we breathe, but also, that man might be capable of the enjoyment of the odoriferous sweets and spices of nature, when their rich perfumes are gently borne along on the whispering breeze of morning or evening air. Thus we discover, that man in his earthly form was every way qualified with outward organs of sensation, for improving his mind, in the useful knowledge of the visible works of God; and for cultivating the wide spread field of universal nature, in which the mind must govern and direct the body.

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." This alegorical figure of a garden planted eastward in Eden, signifies the planting of human nature in a state of youthful innocence and happiness, under the influence of" that true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Observe the garden was planted

eastward; a token of the way of light; remember the star in the east, it led the wise men to Chri nap¡The reason why human nature when planted in that original state of youthful innocence is represented by a garden, is this, as a natural garden needs to be cultivated, in order that the young plants should be brought to perfection in growth and beauty, even so the human mind must be cultivated and improved in divine knowledge, until we all grow up into the perfect stature of a man in Christ Jesus. The wise king of Israel seems evidently to personate Christ. Speaking of human nature when he says, Song 4. 12, "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." Compare this sealed fountain with what God said to Job Chap. 38. 14." It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment." If the reader is careful to observe the context in Job, he will find that God was speaking of man's first estate in the garden, when the fountain of the spiritual being of man, was enclosed in a clay tabernacle, as a spring of moral life shut up in a garment of flesh, which as clay to the seal, stood erect as the gar ment of the soul.

It is now time that we should reflect that in the early ages of the world, before men had acquired much knowledge of the sciences, even before the art of writing was discovered so fully as it is at the present day; the ancient inhabitants used to converse more by signs and figures in conveying their ideas from one to another: and they had to make use of hierogliphical characters painted on parchment or some other material, and thus they kept their first records. Sometimes one of these characters signified as much as a whole sentence, and then again no more than one word. So that when those old hieroglypic records came to be copied and reduced into words and sentences, many of the names of those characters were still retained. Such as the name of the figure of the lion, to signify power and majesty; the lamb, meekness; the dove, harmlessness; the olive branch, peace &c. In a word the scriptures abound in abundance of the names of those ancient hieroglyphics;

and in the course of this work, I shall have much occasirt. and prove their meaning.

Now let us return to man in the garden, "And the LORD God said it is not good for man to be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man," Thus Adam received his wife Eve, and acknowledged her to be bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.

Now observe, this visible ceremonial fact was an allegorical figure of Christ and the church. For as Adam owned Eve to be bone of his bone, even so will Christ finally own human nature to be his bride, when they come to him. And as Eve was brought to Adam by the power of God, even so must human nature or mankiud come to Christ by the same power. As Jesus says himself," No man can come to me except the Father draw him, and I will raise hi up. &c. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed." This implies they had no self righteouscloathing about them, they were entirely naked in this respect, and yet they were not ashamed before God nor each other, because they were clothed with innocence. Their eyes were not yet opened to see any selfrighteousness; for they could only see their own innocence, together with the other goodly works in nature, in which they could rejoice and praise God, without taking any praise to themselves. They were not like Many modern professors who are clothed from head to foot with their own self righteousness, hanging about them like tattered fig leaf aprons, worn in sin and guilt. But Adam and Eve while in their harmless state of rectitude, as created, and also formed of the dust of the ground with organs of outward sense, were calculated not only to enjoy the society of each other; but also to be delighted with every surrounding object. The young field of universal nature, affording in rich abundance, such a va